


Strange Feelings

by Ticklishanimeboysaremylife



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Superpowers, Tickle Fights, Tickle fic, Tickling, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28838952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ticklishanimeboysaremylife/pseuds/Ticklishanimeboysaremylife
Summary: Caleb is used to reading his boyfriend’s emotions, but when he encounters a series of strange ones he is forced to do some inner speculation and in the process discovers a secret Adam had been trying his best to keep hidden forever.
Relationships: Adam Hayes/Caleb Michaels
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Strange Feelings

They were messing around on Adam’s bed when Caleb first felt it.

Caleb was curved around Adam, pressing tight against his boyfriend as they kissed, something Caleb was delighted to see had become a constant part of their hangouts now that they were more comfortable with the whole dating thing. Caleb was running his hands up Adam’s sides, his fingers lifting the edge of his sweatshirt and brushing against bare skin. Adam shivered, grinning against his mouth.

“Your hands are cold,” he complained, shifting on the bed.

“Are not,” Caleb protested, squeezing the hand that rested against the other boy’s hip in retaliation for the slight. He wasn’t prepared for the way Adam jumped, his hand shooting down to block Caleb’s, and the nervous grin that now wobbled on his lips.

Caleb raised an eyebrow, sitting up and disentangling them. “What was that?”

Adam shrugged nonchalantly, staring determinedly out the window. Narrowing his eyes, Caleb reached forward speculatively, pinching his hip again. Adam squeaked, shoving his hand away. Slowly, Caleb began to smile teasingly.

“You’re ticklish,” he accused, delighted by this newfound knowledge. “You’re ticklish and you never told me.”

“No I’m not,” Adam denied immediately, and that was when Caleb felt it. That small mixture of panic and embarrassment and something else that Caleb wasn’t sure how to identify. It almost felt like… excitement? Adam locked eyes with him and for a moment nobody moved, unsure how to proceed from that moment. In the end Caleb was overwhelmed with the nerves radiating off his boyfriend and backed off, taking his hand instead.

“Alright,” he said, pulling him close once more. “I believe you.”

But even as the bubbly happiness returned, there was something else lingering. Disappointment. Caleb couldn’t help but dwell on it the rest of the evening and even as he returned home that night, the thought bounced around in his skull, trying to find a home.

He ended up bringing it up to Dr. Bright during one of their sessions, thinking maybe she could bring some clarity to the situation.

“Something weird happened the other day,” he explained, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice. It was always strange discussing his love life with an adult, let alone his therapist. “Um, when Adam and I were… uh, you know. Kissing.”

Dr. Bright raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

“I felt something from him… it was like this weird panic excitement thing at first but then it was disappointed and I’m not sure what it means. I mean, it’s not like we were doing anything weird or anything, so I’m not sure what I did to make him feel that way.”

“Have you tried discussing this with Adam?”

“No,” Caleb admitted. “I kind of got the feeling it was because of something I did and I didn’t want to embarrass him or anything, or for him to deny it so he wouldn’t hurt my feelings. I just don’t understand what he was disappointed by. Like, was I doing something wrong?”

Dr. Bright smiled gently. “I’m sure it was nothing you did. You and Adam seem happy together. If anything was wrong, I’m sure it’s something you can work out together.”

Caleb shrugged. “I guess. I just wish I understood him better sometimes.”

Dr. Bright leaned back in her chair. “It’s completely normal to want to understand your boyfriend better. I think even Non-Atypicals have experienced that.” She paused speculatively. “What were you doing? Before he became disappointed, I mean.”

Caleb wrinkled his face, trying to think back. “We were just kissing normally I think… at one point I like, brushed against his side or something and I asked if he was ticklish and he said no and so I believed him and we just went back to kissing. But that was all that happened.”

Dr. Bright’s face cleared as he spoke and she coughed, sitting forward a little. “Well, that explains it. Most people have bad memories associated with being tickled. He probably thought you were going to try something.”

“No, but it wasn’t like…” Caleb struggled to explain what he felt. “I mean, I guess that could be it, but it didn’t feel like normal panic, you know? He was like, super freaked about it, more than you would be about just tickling. And he wasn’t just freaking out, he was also… kind of excited? Like, a mixture of anticipation and happiness and the butterflies, but all at once. What? You feel… weird now. Wait, why are you embarrassed?”

Dr. Bright chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I just think I finally understand what’s happening here. You said he felt disappointed after?”

“Yeah.”

“Would you say that was after you failed to tickle him?”

Caleb thought about it. “Yeah I guess so.”

Dr. Bright folded her hands in front of her on the desk. “I think there’s a distinct possibility that Adam might have wanted you to tickle him and was then disappointed when you failed to initiate anything.”

Now Caleb was really confused. “Wait, but I thought you said people didn’t like tickling.”

“Generally no,” she agreed wryly. “I certainly wasn’t much of a fan of it myself as a child. But for some people it’s a method of bonding, something that brings them joy and reminds them of pleasant memories. It different for everyone. I remember Mark used to provoke people into tickle fights all the time. I could never understand it, but it was what made him happy. Maybe that’s so for Adam as well.”

Caleb frowned, thinking back on it. Could Adam really have wanted him to tickle him? And if so, what was he supposed to do about it? He thought about the expression on his face, that shy grin, the way he didn’t move away at first, waiting for Caleb to make the first move instead. When he thought about it like that, it started to make a little more sense.

They continued the rest of the session discussing football season and how he was getting along with his other classmates, random, trivial things that couldn’t hold Caleb’s full attention. His mind was still focused on the pressing information just revealed. He needed to see Adam. He left the session an hour later, rushing out the door with hasty goodbyes, already pulling out his phone to text Adam if he wanted to meet up later that day.

Two hours later, the two sat on Caleb’s bed and Caleb could feel the nervous energy radiating off Adam, inevitable after the words we need to talk.

“So,” Adam said, clearly trying to sound less nervous than he felt. “What, uh, what did you want to talk about?”

Sometimes Caleb hated his ability. It could be a nice insight on people, sure, but it could be a real pain in the ass other times, like when he needed to have a serious conversation and had to deal with the anxiety of two people combined all at once. The conversation was difficult enough already. “Do you remember the other day? You know, when I was over at your house and we were watching that movie, the one about that detective lawyer?”

Confusion, worry, amusement. “I hardly call it watching a movie if you’re sucking face with your best friend the whole time.”

Caleb snorted shakily. “Yeah, true. But uh, on that subject, I actually wanted to talk about what happened while we were making out. The. Um. The tickling, that is.”

Idiot.

He looked up at Adam hesitantly and was hit with the exact same feelings as the other day, only doubled somehow. Caleb felt like he wanted to claw off his own skin and then have the ground open up and swallow him. He could only imagine what it was like for Adam. Adam was staring at him with a wide-eyed deer-in-headlights expression, a dark flush slowly overtaking his face. He quickly looked down at his hands, picking at his nails.

“Oh yeah?” he asked, voice a cadence higher than usual. “What about it?”

“I sort of felt something,” Caleb explained slowly, trying to be gentle about it and ignore the panic coming off Adam in waves. He could see the other boy’s shoulders tensing. “There was, you know, panic, but you were also excited. Like, really excited.”

“Oh god,” Adam groaned.

“So I talked to Dr. Bright about it—”

Adam’s head shot up. “You talked to your therapist about it?” he exclaimed, gripping his arms. “That’s… that’s private stuff, Caleb! What, do you discuss our entire sex life with your therapist?”

Caleb decided now was not the best time to bring up the phone call with Dr. Bright. “No! I just thought she could provide some insight! I’m not the greatest at this deciphering feelings thing, in case you haven’t noticed. I didn’t realize you liked me for months.”

“I know that,” Adam said, a little bit hurt. “But you could have talked to me about it instead of bringing some random stranger into it.”

“Dr. Bright is not some random stranger,” Caleb countered defensively. “And I thought you would be too embarrassed to talk about it, or just deny it or something. The point is, she brought up some good points, and I think she’s right.”

“Right about what?” Adam asked warily.

“Adam, do you like to be tickled?”

Adam didn’t look at him. His face seemed permanently tinged red and he was still staring at the floor like he wished it would swallow him at any moment. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “M-Maybe? It’s not, um, like a weird thing or anything and you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, I mean, I completely understand—”

“Adam.” He looked up into Caleb’s soft, understanding gaze. “It’s okay. I don’t think it’s weird.”

Adam frowned. “Y-You don’t?”

“No. I mean, maybe a little. But not any weirder than you already are.”

Adam snorted sarcastically, the sound coming out a bit too forced due to nerves. “Thanks, I feel so much better now.”

“No, that’s not what I—” Caleb broke off, frustrated. “I meant that it’s okay if it’s weird. Everyone’s a little bit weird. I like that you’re weird. And this is no different.”

Adam bit his lip, staring up at him skeptically. “You’re really okay with it?”

“Of course I am.” Caleb leaned forward, wrapping Adam into a hug. Adam stiffened at first but eventually relaxed into it, reaching his arms around him as well. “It means I get to discover a whole new part of you.”

After a moment Adam pulled away, nervously tugging at his sweatshirt. “This is so embarrassing. I mean, I’m glad that you’re cool with it and all, it just kind of sucks that my feelings give me away all the time.”

Caleb cringed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about that. Kind of can’t help it though. Superpowers, remember?”

Adam sighed, giving him a tired smile. “I know. I’m more mad at myself than I am at you.”

He could still feel that anticipation, though it was slightly dampened now by relief and happiness, swirling around in Adam’s mix of feelings. Caleb hesitated for a moment, not sure if it was something he really wanted or if Caleb was just guessing wrong again. He had to ask though, just in case. “Do you want me to… you know…” he wiggled his fingers a bit for emphasis.

Adam blushed, burying his face in his hands. “Can you really tell?”

Caleb shrugged awkwardly. “Kinda? Not directly, but now that I know about it, it wasn’t that hard to put together.”

Adam peeked out from behind his fingers. “Are you okay with that? I mean yes, I do. Kind of. Yes. Do you want to?”

In answer Caleb tugged Adam closer by the hem of sweatshirt, pulling him so Caleb was sat right behind him. He slid his hands up his shirt, resting them on bare skin, and he felt Adam tense, goosebumps prickling along his skin.

“Cold hands!” Adam hissed.

“Oh yeah? How’s this for cold hands?”

Adam’s laughter was spectacular. At the beginning of their friendship it had been a rare thing, coming out only in sarcastic chuckles or a half-hearted huff. Then, as they got to know each other better and both began to open up, he got to hear more genuine laughter, the cute snort that came out whenever he wasn’t paying attention or the silent laughter he would slip into when Caleb made yet another stupid joke. But this laughter was different. It started out as sputtered giggles, Adam desperately trying to hold onto the last of his dignity as he struggled to stay still. Then Caleb discovered that his stomach made him absolutely dissolve and from then on it was a mess, Adam sliding down on Caleb’s lap, half-heartedly curling up as he cackled helplessly, batting away at his hands. It was genuine and carefree and Adam, and Caleb couldn’t believe Adam ever thought he would hate this side of him.

“Whahahait!” he squealed, his hands alternating from covering his face to flapping around uselessly. Caleb was repeatedly pinching his hipbone, each touch sending ticklish shocks throughout Adam’s body. “Noho, Cahahaleb!”

“You love it,” Caleb teased and Adam went bright tomato red, not denying him but instead dissolving into laughter once more. “I can’t believe I never knew you were ticklish. I’ll have to make up for lost time.”

“Ohoho my gohohod,” Adam giggled, arching back into him. “Ihihi—Ihihi cahahan’t! Tohohohoo muhuhuch!”

He whacked Caleb’s arm weakly, a non-official tap-out, and Caleb immediately backed off, wrapping his arms around Adam in a hug instead. Adam giggled quietly for a moment, twitching at every sudden moment, his arms wrapped protectively around his torso.

“You okay?” Caleb asked worriedly. Even if Adam did like it, he didn’t want to go too far.

“Yeah,” Adam assured him, entwining their fingers together around his stomach. “I just… wow. That was intense.”

Caleb nodded. “Yeah. I don’t understand how you were able to stand it. I’d never be able to hold still for that long.”

Adam slowly turned around, a familiar shit-eating grin on his face, and Caleb quickly realized his mistake. “You’re ticklish too? Caleb Michaels, big strong football player, is ticklish?”

Caleb was already backing away, holding his hands up in a position of surrender. “H-Hey now, this isn’t about me—no, wait, Adam no!”

Needless to say, the boys’ evening was filled with laughter and giggles, not that either of them minded, not really.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at my tumblr: https://happyandticklish.tumblr.com/


End file.
